The Ancient Schemer from Time Immemorial

Old Ghost led Gu Qingfeng for an entire day before finally reaching their destination.

Gu Qingfeng gazed into the depths of the burial ground, where countless tombstones stood, each separated by hundreds of thousands of miles.

Behind those tombstones were burial mounds—some as small as earthen hills, others towering like hundred-zhang mountains.

Apart from the mounds, there were also ancient coffins left unburied.

These coffins were placed in peculiar locations—some submerged in deep pools, others perched atop cliffs, and a few even hanging from trees.

"You’re not trying to tell me that Heavenly Emperors are buried in these mounds and coffins, are you?" Gu Qingfeng asked.

Old Ghost nodded. "Not just Heavenly Emperors, but also Quasi-Emperors. Over endless ages, I spread rumors to lure people here, telling them that this burial ground is the closest place to reincarnation, where the Dao’s elusive thread of vitality resides. Entering this place grants a chance to live a second life.

Thus, many Quasi-Emperors, like moths to a flame, came seeking it."

"You brought me here just to look at a bunch of dead people?"

"Emperor Gu, take a closer look at their condition."

Gu Qingfeng activated his Golden Eyes of Truth and examined the mounds and coffins.

A single glance sent a shock through him.

He discovered that every mound and coffin contained a corpse.

These corpses radiated Dao rhythms and an overwhelming imperial aura—clearly the legendary Emperor Corpses, the remains of Heavenly Emperors.

The Emperor Corpses themselves didn’t surprise Gu Qingfeng. What truly stunned him was their state—an incredibly profound condition, as if suspended between life and death.

One moment, they seemed alive; the next, they appeared dead, forever oscillating between the two, neither fully one nor the other.

Moreover, each corpse exuded a thick aura of ominous energy.

Sensing this ominous energy, Gu Qingfeng felt a surge of delight. Typically, beings radiating such energy were taboos, and nine times out of ten, they belonged to the "family."

Of course, specifics required analysis—without testing, he couldn’t be entirely certain.

"Emperor Gu, I’m sure you’ve sensed their aura. I’ve used the burial ground’s unique properties to transform these Heavenly Emperors from past eras into this state of neither life nor death, evading the gaze of the Heavenly Dao.

Heavenly Emperors wield the Mandate of Heaven, drawing the Heavenly Dao’s scrutiny—not just in life but even in death and reincarnation.

Only this liminal state between life and death can shield them from its sight."

Ignoring Old Ghost’s explanation, Gu Qingfeng smirked. "Oh? It seems you’ve mastered not just the Law of Time but also the Dao of Life and Death. Without profound expertise in the latter, you couldn’t have transformed these Emperor Corpses into such a state."

Old Ghost chuckled dryly, caught off guard by Gu Qingfeng’s sharp insight.

"Living long enough, one witnesses life and death—naturally, I’ve gleaned some understanding of the Dao of Life and Death.

But let’s focus on the matter at hand. These Emperor Corpses are, in essence, Heavenly Emperors who faked their deaths to escape the Heavenly Dao’s grasp.

However, their Daos have already been harvested by the Heavenly Dao, leaving them far weaker than before.

Still, they’ve left contingencies—passing their Immortal Bodies to descendants, who nurture them. Once revived, they’ll reclaim their Immortal Bodies and regain some strength."

"Old Ghost, you sly old fox. While the Heavenly Dao harvests the Emperors’ Daos, you harvest their corpses," Gu Qingfeng teased.

"Emperor Gu, don’t slander me! This is a collaboration with the Emperors, not harvesting. They’ve retained their consciousness, waiting to revive and join me in overthrowing the heavens."

Gu Qingfeng scoffed, not believing a word.

This old schemer was cunning as a fox, his words always half-truths.

"Enough nonsense. Get to the point—what do you need me to do?"

"Patience. Let me explain. Though these Emperors left their Immortal Bodies to descendants, merely reclaiming them won’t fully restore their strength. The key lies in recovering their Daos.

To reclaim their Daos, they must enter the Emperor’s Path, where projections of three thousand past Emperors and Sovereigns reside, each bearing their Dao.

By devouring these projections, they’ll return to their peak. Then, our forces will be unstoppable—the perfect moment to overthrow the heavens!

As for entering the Emperor’s Path, that’s where your Sin of the Multitude comes in.

These Emperors are now in a taboo state, rejected by the Heavenly Dao. Their identities as former Heavenly Emperors, bearers of the Mandate, make them especially conspicuous. The moment they leave this burial ground, the Heavenly Dao will detect them.

Entering the Emperor’s Path would then be impossible.

So, we need you to cloak their auras with the Sin of the Multitude, masking them amid the chaos of mortal evil, and escort them into the Emperor’s Path to reclaim their Daos!"

After Old Ghost’s explanation, Gu Qingfeng finally understood the so-called "cover"—using the Sin of the Multitude to shield the Emperors as they entered the Emperor’s Path.

To deceive the Heavenly Dao’s gaze, nothing but the Sin of the Multitude would suffice.

Ordinary methods of obscuring fate were useless.

If the Heavenly Dao’s gaze were surveillance, obscuring fate would be like cutting the feed—leaving a blank screen.

Normally, with countless feeds, one black screen might go unnoticed.

But when the Emperor’s Path opened, the Heavenly Dao’s focus would fixate there. A sudden blackout would alert even the dullest observer.

Hence, obscuring fate wouldn’t work. The Sin of the Multitude, however, was different.

It was like flooding the surveillance feed with a dense crowd, hiding the culprits within. The Heavenly Dao would struggle to spot them.

Wait—

Gu Qingfeng suddenly realized something.

First, these Emperor Corpses had to enter the Emperor’s Path to reclaim their Daos.

Their descendants, who nurtured their Immortal Bodies, had been sealed away, waiting for the Emperor’s Path to open before awakening.

Just like Qilin Child, who had waited countless years, skipping several great epochs—why?

Because the Emperor Corpses weren’t ready! They forbade Qilin Child and others from emerging!

Those descendants with Immortal Bodies truly believed their ancestors or fathers had calculated the perfect moment for them to awaken and claim the Dao.

Little did they know—their awakening would mark the moment the Emperor Corpses devoured their Immortal Bodies.

Once Qilin Child and the others emerged, they’d inevitably enter the Emperor’s Path. The Emperor Corpses would follow, killing two birds with one stone: reclaiming their Immortal Bodies and their Daos.

In short, the Emperor’s Path was the linchpin of the plan to overthrow the heavens.

And to enter it, the Sin of the Multitude’s cover was essential.

Which meant—the Sin of the Multitude was also pivotal to the plan.

Connecting these dots, Gu Qingfeng felt a chill of realization.

Since the Sin of Annihilation was jointly developed by Old Ghost and the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor, doesn’t that mean everything was deliberately orchestrated by Old Ghost?

Including the birth of the Sin of Annihilation...

It’s likely that as far back as ancient times, he began scheming against the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor, luring him into becoming the Sin of Annihilation, then watching as the Heavenly Dao suppressed him.

After being imprisoned for endless eons, the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor would undoubtedly harbor deep hatred for the Heavenly Dao. By then, Old Ghost would only need to rescue him and offer a few persuasive words, and the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor would willingly join the plan to overthrow the heavens.

Old Ghost is truly an unmitigated old schemer!

He’s selling out the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor, only for the latter to turn around and thank him with tears of gratitude.

Gu Qingfeng couldn’t help but sigh in reflection. Thankfully, he had killed the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor in advance—otherwise, once freed, the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor would have been utterly played to death by Old Ghost.

Now that he was dead beforehand, he naturally avoided being tricked to his doom.

It was also fortunate that Gu Qingfeng wasn’t the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor, free from the hatred toward the Heavenly Dao. If the real Abandoned Heavenly Emperor were here, he would never have noticed the deception.

After being imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao for so long, his hatred had festered for hundreds of millions of years, becoming bone-deep and instinctual. Such rigid thinking would make him believe only what he wanted to believe.